A.Jackson Avro Aircraft since 1908 (Putnam)

Avro 530

The Avro 530, first flown in July 1917, was a two seat fighter which failed to secure a production contract in the face of competition from the celebrated Bristol Fighter because of non-availability of engines. The 300 h.p. watercooled Hispano-Suiza was not obtainable when required and the machine flew with a 200 h.p. Hispano-Suiza. Even on the lower power the performance of the Avro 530 rivalled that of the Bristol and it might still have become one of the famous fighters of the First World War had not almost all 200 h.p. Hispano-Suiza engines been earmarked for the S.E.5A. Built at Manchester and erected and flown at Hamble, the Avro 530 was an unusually clean two bay biplane with a tail unit resembling that of the first Pike. Its unusually deep fuselage was of wire braced, box-girder construction with the fabric covering stretched over formers to give a more streamlined shape. The engine mounting consisted of strutted duralumin girders. The pilot occupied the front cockpit but the fuselage was so deep at this point that it almost filled the mainplane gap, leaving only enough room for a single Vickers gun in a plywood fairing on top of the fuselage. The top wing was thus on a level with the pilot's eyes, ensuring adequate view in all upward and forward directions while a rear gunner armed with a single Lewis gun on a Scarff mounting commanded the downward and rearward view. The fabric covered, wooden mainplanes were of R.A.F. 14 section and engine cooling was by means of a large frontal radiator. In the original form of the machine the lines of the short, blunt nose were improved by fitting a hollow, open-fronted metal spinner. The famous Avro skid-type undercarriage gave place to a new low-drag unit comprising two narrow Vees faired with metal sheeting and braced by an internal Vee strut. Landing speed was reduced by trailing edge flaps actuated by a handwheel in the pilot's cockpit. They were fitted to both upper and lower mainplanes between the inboard ends of the ailerons and the fuselage. In an attempt to solve the engine supply problem, the Avro 530 was afterwards re-engined with a 200 h.p. Sunbeam Arab and modified in various ways. An unfaired, wide angle Vee undercarriage was fitted; there was no spinner; the tail fin was larger and more gracefully curved; and new R.A.F.15 section mainplanes were fitted. These were without flaps but had long-span ailerons and metal cuffs to fair the ends of the interplane struts into the wing. In view of its deep and capacious fuselage, the Avro 530 was offered in 1920 as a high speed touring aeroplane with comfortable tandem cockpits above a large baggage compartment. There is no evidence that this modification took place and the machine did not receive a civil registration.

H.King Armament of British Aircraft (Putnam)

530. Quite rightly this two-seater fighter of 1917 has been compared with the Bristol Fighter, but its advanced design has not, perhaps, been sufficiently stressed, especially in respect of armament provisions. Avro made reference to a 'turret-like structure' having a wing secured to it and housing a gun firing through an opening and allowing vertical adjustment. A fixed gun firing through the airscrew boss was also mentioned, and the rear gun was said to be 'raised clear of the top plane#. As it materialised, the 530 had a single synchronised Vickers gun in the pylon, or 'turret# structure, with ejection chutes projecting from the fuselage sides, and the gunner had a Lewis gun on his high-set Scarff ring-mounting.

Jane's All The World Aircraft 1919

Of relatively clean aerodynamic design by contemporary standards, and featuring a ducted spinner, the Avro 530 two-seat fighter was designed in 1916 to compete with the Bristol F.2A, but the first prototype was not flown until July 1917. Powered by a 200 hp Hispano-Suiza 8Bd eight-cylinder liquid-cooled engine, the Avro 530 was of wooden construction with fabric skinning, and mounted an armament of a single fixed and synchronised 0-303-in (7,7-mm) Vickers gun, and a Lewis gun of similar calibre mounted on a Scarff ring in the rear cockpit. Although performance of the Avro 530 proved to be good, it did not improve sufficiently on that of the Bristol F.2A to warrant production orders. Furthermore, priority in the supply of the Hispano-Suiza engine was being given to the S.E.5A. During 1918, one of the two Avro 530 prototypes was flown with a 200 hp Sunbeam Arab engine, revised undercarriage, an extended tail fin, and flapless wings of new section with long-span ailerons, but development was subsequently abandoned.

W.Green, G.Swanborough The Complete Book of Fighters

AVRO 530 UK

Of relatively clean aerodynamic design by contemporary standards and featuring a ducted propeller spinner, the Avro 530 two-seat fighter was designed in 1916 to compete with the Bristol F.2A, but the first prototype was not flown until July 1917. Powered by a 200 hp Hispano-Suiza 8Bd eight-cylinder water-cooled engine, the Avro 530 was of wooden construction with fabric skinning, and mounted an armament of a single fixed and synchronised 0.303-in (7,7-mm) Vickers gun, a Lewis gun of similar calibre being mounted on a Scarff ring in the rear cockpit. Although performance of the Avro 530 proved to be good, it did not improve sufficiently on that of the Bristol F.2A to warrant production orders. Furthermore, priority in the supply of the Hispano-Suiza engine was being given to the S.E.5a. During 1918, one of the two Avro 530 prototypes was flown with a 200 hp Sunbeam Arab engine, revised undercarriage, an extended tail fin and flapless wings of new section with long-span ailerons, but development was subsequently abandoned.

Журнал Flight

Flight, March 20, 1919.

"MILESTONES"

The Avro Machines

Avro Two-Seater Fighter, Type 530. July, 1917.

In many ways the 530 was a radical departure from usual Avro practice. Thus the engine, instead of the rotaries fitted in the type 504 machines, was a water-cooled - a 200 h.p. Sunbeam "Arab." Also the shape of the wing tips was totally different from the usual Avro rectangular tips with rounded corners. As regards the fuselage, this was very much deeper, and of different shape altogether from the ordinary Avro bodies. The object kept in view when designing this machine was to provide as good a view as possible for both gunner and pilot. To this end the body was made very deep, and the pilot was so placed that his eyes were on a level with the under side of the top plane. Similarly the gunner was placed very high in relation to the top plane, being in fact able to fire over it. It will be noticed that the attachment of the top plane to the body was unusual. A sort of fin was extended up from the body, covered with ply-wood, to which the centre section was attached. Inside this fin was mounted the pilot's machine gun, synchronised, of course, while the gunner's weapon was mounted on the usual rotatable gun ring. The undercarriage was of a simple Vee type, but forming a letter M, as seen from in front, and the two side Vees were enclosed in fabric. The machine was very light and quick on the controls, and the deep roomy fuselage afforded ample space for ammunition, wireless, cameras, etc. From the table of performances it will be seen that both speed and climb were very good indeed for the power, and this is of particular interest in view of the comparatively large cross sectional area of the fuselage - 14 sq. ft. - which does not appear to have adversely affected the speed of the machine. Originally the Type 530 was designed for a 300 h.p. Hispano-Suiza engine, but as this could not be obtained the experimental machines were fitted with 200 h.p. Sunbeam "Arabs" and 200 h.p. Hispano-Suizas.

THE AVRO TYPE 530. - This is a two-seater fighter, fitted with a 200 h.p. Sunbeam Arab engine. It was originally designed for a 300 h.p. Hispano, which could not. however, be obtained at the time of testing the machine.